1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a high density interconnection system for interconnecting a daughter card to a backplane or a mother board, and particularly to a high density interconnection system having modularized housing parts which can be assembled together according to the desired number of pins and length of the connectors to simplify the assembling process and save the cost.
2. Description of Prior Arts
Many high-density, high-speed, high-performance interconnection systems for interconnecting a backplane or a mother board with daughter cards, are designed to be used in today""s high-end computing and telecommunication equipments. Generally, a high-density interconnection system consists of a daughter card connector which is mountable on a daughter card and a backplane connector which is mountable on a backplane. Both the daughter card connector and the backplane connector have plural engagable signal contacts for transmitting high-speed data signals between the backplane and the daughter card.
Recently, a new product of above described backplane/daughtercard interconnect system, named XCELL(trademark), is released by Litton""s Winchester/Retconn Division which is now a member of Northrop Grumman""s component technologies sector. The related patents of XCELL(trademark) can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,179,663 and 6,206,729. As is introduced, XCELL(trademark) consists of three different connector modulesxe2x80x94signal, power, and guide. Both the backplane connector and the daughter card connector are manufactured individually, while the daughter card connector is mounted on an extruded aluminum board stiffener.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 5,066,236 particularly discloses one type of backplane connector mountable on a mother board. The backplane connector includes a plurality of housing modules connected with each other to form a connector housing. The housing modules are substantially identical to each other and each housing module has a same number of contacts received therein. Similarly, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,171,115 and 6,267,604 present the other type of backplane connector. This type of backplane connector has a housing which is a two-piece member including a front housing and an organizer. A plurality of wafers is assembled and organized between the front housing and the organizer, each wafer securing thereon a same number of contacts.
However, problems occurred in the above-mentioned connectors are addressed hereafter. Understandably, the number of signal terminals of a backplane connector, which is required to carry data signals, is different under different applications. Furthermore, for the different applications, the backplane connectors may require different lengths, but the above-mentioned connectors each are made with an integrated housing having a predetermined length which is not adjustable to alternate the length of the connector. Obviously, if different number of signal terminals or different length of the connector is desired, the connector should be redesigned. This increases the cost.
Hence, a high-density, high-speed connector having an improved housing is desired to overcome the disadvantages of the prior arts.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a high-density interconnection system which includes a daughter card header and a backplane receptacle, both the header and the receptacle having modularized housing parts which can be assembled together according to the desired number of pins and housing length to simplify the assembling process and save the possible cost.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a high density interconnection system in accordance with the present invention includes a daughter card header mountable on a daughter card and a backplane receptacle mountable on a backplane. The daughter card header comprises an insulative housing and a number of signal terminals and grounding members received in the housing. The insulative housing is composed of a number of modularized housing portions assembled with each other. The daughter card connector has a number of first fastening means to interconnect the housing portions. Each first fastening means comprises a first member and a second member. The first member is formed on one of the housing portions and the second member is formed on a neighboring housing portion. The first member defines a cutout on a top side thereof, a pair of opposed indents in a lower side thereof and a recess extending between the cutout and the pair of indents. The second member comprises a main body with a lock formed on an upper end thereof and a pair of embossments formed on opposite sides of a lower end of the main body. The main body is received in the recess with the pair of embossments being retained in the pair of indents and the lock being retained in the cutout and abutting thereagainst. Therefore, the adjacent two housing portions are mechanically connected together.
The backplane receptacle has an insulative base, a cover attached onto the insulative base, a plurality of circuit boards arranged between the base and the cover, and a plurality of signal contacts and grounding elements received in the insulative base. The insulative base is composed of a plurality of modularized base sections assembled with each other. The backplane receptacle has a plurality of second fastening means to interconnect the plurality of base sections. Each second fastening means comprises a first device and a second device. The first device is formed on one of the base sections and the second device is formed on a neighboring base section. The first device defines a recess and a pair of opposed indents in a lower side thereof. The second device comprises a main body with a lock formed on an upper end thereof and a pair of embossments formed on opposite sides of a lower end of said main body. The main body is received in the recess with the pair of embossments being retained in the pair of indents and the lock abutting against a top edge of the first device. Therefore, the adjacent two base sections are mechanically connected.
Each of the modularized housing portions has a similar structure while receives a different number of signal terminals therein and has a different length. The housing portions can be combined to form a housing having a predetermined length and a predetermined number of signal terminals according to the requirements in practical application. The modularized base sections of the backplane receptacle have a similar structure as the modularized housing portions of the daughter card header.